It has recently come to my attention that on my 30th birthday (5 years from now, I have time to mentally prepare myself for this), I will have been a knitter for half my life. As it stands I’ve known how to knit for most of my life, but have only considered myself a Knitter for about 10 years. So yeah… talk about a reality check!
Stash Busting… January 17, 2012
I have a plan. It involves a years worth of projects, to culminate as a rather large and fantastic gift for a very good friend. We shall see.
In the mean time, I’ve been knitting a lot (though work gets in the way sometime). There are sweaters, cowls, hats, blankets and socks that have all been started. Some projects have been completed, lots are still in progress.
Malabrigo Arroyo arrived at the yarn store in December, and I am madly in love with this yarn! The colors are beautiful, thought I would like more selection – something closer to the Rios range. It has a great handle, lovely stitch definition, and decent yardage. I’m halfway through a sweater with it at the moment, and can’t wait ti wear it. I suspect it will be pretty warm (I know the Rios and the Worsted are incredibly warm), but I’m hoping for something to wear on a nice fall or spring day. We’ll see!
Happy knitting to all, and good luck in the rain!
New arrivals April 20, 2011
It’s been a while since I’ve posted projects that I’m working on, so I think it’s time I catch everyone up. I sent out a baby blanket for some family friends last week. I designed the blanket based on a simple 6 stitch cable, and added an edging from Knitting Beyond the Edge by Nicky Epstein.
Baby Blanket
I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, about 7 skeins (approximately 950 yards) on a size 6 needle. Were I to knit this again, I would definitely use a size 7 to make the project faster. It was started on a 4, but by the time I was 3″ into the project I realized it would take WAY too long. The finished project is really nice- great stitch definition, a soft fabric and a good stroller size blanket.
Blocking the baby blanket
As much as I like the finished product, I didn’t love the yarn. It looks pretty and feels soft in your hands, but the splitting gets really really annoying. You can also feel the microfiber more than I would like to. Don’t get me wrong, you can feel the cashmere as well, but I would like to feel more of it. Were I to make this again I would probably go for a superwash merino like Reynolds Revue. I’ve used it for baby stuff before, and never had a problem with splitting.
Right now I’m working on a very late pair of christmas socks of a friend of mine in one of the Opal socks yarns. They’re farther along than this picture (on the foot of sick #2 – woohoo!).
Opal's HArry Potter series in the Harry and Ron colorway
Happy knitting!
It’s official… I have too much yarn April 12, 2011
In an effort to reorganize my life and set myself up for success and not over stashing, I have decided to take an inventory of my yarn stash. BIG MISTAKE! Well, from the perspective that I have forgotten how much yarn I have, exactly what I have, and how much I REALLY don’t need any more yarn. On the other hand, I will finally be sure of what I have and that I really don’t need another skein of that Malabrigo sock yarn… So with the help of Ravelry, I will be master of my own little knitting world. This has also solidified the principal of not buying any more yarn. I’m pretty sure I have enough yarn that it would take me 5 years to knit through all of it. Seriously, too much yarn for a girl who wants to move to another country and have space in her room for a bed. I also have the help of my new camera to make the project a success!
Basket of sock yarn
I can finally show off my projects! It’s very exciting. It’s taking a little while to get used to, so some of my early pictures are rough but they’re better now. I took pictures of all of the yarn in the sock yarn bin (let’s not discuss how many  future pairs of socks I have) and as I look through them all I can tell that it was about half way before I really got the lighting and focus right.
Herring Bone Rib Socks in Abstract Fibers sock yarn
Needless to say, I’m in love.
Malabrigo sock yarn
stash stress March 31, 2011
My stash is starting to stress me out. It has grown exponentially since I started at the yarn store over 2 years ago. Unfortunately adding to the stash with reckless abandon has resulted in a lot of yarn I don’t even know I have. Thus the decision to do some spring cleaning soon. No, nothing will be leaving the stash (as far as I know), but I will be taking pictures and using Ravelry to help me keep track of it. I will finally know just how many skeins of Malabrigo sock yarn I have…
In knitting news I finished most of the pieces for a commission silk sweater. I need to block the body and sleeves before seaming and adding the petal stitch collar details. Now I just need to find somewhere to block it. My bed is not working out. Especially of I want to sleep in the next 48 hours. I finished a baby blanket, too. It’s pretty.
Happy knitting!
new year, new yarn goal January 11, 2011
To say I have a lot of yarn is getting to be an understatement. I’ve been working in a yarn store for over 2 years and I get payed in yarn. It’s been a choice this whole time, and it’s been great. However, storage is becoming an issue as I don’t really have a permanent home. I am also looking to move to England in the near future (ie. in less than 2 years). This has prompted me to lay down some strict yarn rules for 2011.
Rule number 1: No new yarn may be added to the stash until 5 projects have been completed. Only one project worth of yarn may be added for every 5 projects finished.
Rule number 2: Yarn added must already be on my shelf at the store (2 projects are exempt as the yarn is still in transit, but was ordered prior to New Years). My shelf is currently full and needs to be emptied without adding another tub of yarn to my stash.
Rule number 3: Yarn received as a gift may be added to the stash regardless of projects completed as it is from an outside source.
There you have it. My yarn rules for 2011. Here’s to sticking to New Years Resolutions!
Bees Eye View December 11, 2010
I love reading the science articles from BBC News. There’s always something interesting. Today, there’s an article about Bees! Researchers have created a database of images showing how bees see flowers and other plants using the UV spectrum. There are a couple cool images in the article, but not many. I poked around the database website for a bit but I was not able to find any more images there, either. I did get a nice little surprise – one of the researchers is from Imperial College London, which was kitty corner from my flat!
In other news, I finished knitting the shawl with the Tilli Tomas lace. I love the finished product! I was able to block the shawl quickly, it dried in less than a day and hardly any dye came out when I soaked it (no change in color, so don’t worry about that!). I am still having camera trouble, but I will post pictures as soon as possible. Today the shawl goes to it’s new home, so I’ll have to say good bye. Fortunately it’s holiday knitting time and I have more projects than I can possibly finish in time! I am currently working on 3 pairs of socks, 3 cowls need finishing and blocking, and I still have some people to think about.
One of the pairs of socks is almost finished. I am using Urban Gypz merino sock yarn that I bought when I worked at Purls Yarn Emporium in Asheville, NC. Some time in the last 2.5 years I’ve lost the tag. Fortunately for me I stashed it in Ravelry! The color is Deep Water. It’s bright blue, purple, lime green, with dashes of evergreen. I’ve worked with this yarn before to make socks for my brother (Ravelry link) and loved it! The yarn has a tight twist, smooth handle, bright colors, and handles being machine washed well (I know this because of my brother’s socks – they are still very bright!). All around, I love this yarn. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes rich, bright colors and hand painted sock yarn! If you’re in the Asheville area, this is a great local yarn to pick up. I’m not sure if Purl’s still carries it, but you can always ask. I have had several people come into the yarn store where I work now and ask for locally dyed yarn, and sadly we don’t carry any. I always suggest they visit a fiber expo, but it would be wonderful to have a section devoted to local yarns. Purl’s does a great job of this – when I was visiting last month they had some great local sock yarn and that’s what I bought. It also makes a great gift for knitters back home 😉
Happy knitting, and I WILL get this camera situation taken care of!
Pretty yarn and a pretty shawl! November 29, 2010
It’s Christmas knitting season! In the past I’ve made detailed knitting lists, schedules and collected yarn in August. This year… well, lets say I have a lot to knit and not a lot of time. I would love to share some holiday knitting, but I don’t want to spoil any surprises! So until the holidays are over, I have plenty of past projects and new yarn to write about.
Today I’ve been working on a shawl for a friend of mine. I’m knitting the Haruni Shawl in Tilli Tomas Symphony. The Colorway is Coral Sap – appropriately named. The color is a rich coral with a thin silver strand running with the mohair. Iridescent glass beads add glitz to the yarn, and a nice weight to the knit fabric. I have used this yarn before for the same pattern, and have loved working on both. Unlike some mohairs I’ve worked with, there isn’t much of a halo with this yarn. This allows for a clear stitch definition on both size 6 and size 8 needles (I’m using a larger needle than the pattern calls for on the second shawl). The yarn has a smooth handle, even with the beads. The only problem I have found with it is that the twist can loosen, causing the mohair strand to separate from the silk thread with beads and a gap can form between the two. For example, if the silk thread is pulled taught the mohair strand will be very loose. I haven’t had any huge problems with this, but it can be a bit annoying. Other than that the yarn is fantastic – well worth the $40 price tag. It is pricy, but a nice little treat for a special project. With 345 yards per skein, it’s enough for a small scarf or edging on a large shawl.
The Haruni Shawl is a nice little project. It’s pretty in many types of yarn (I’ve used plain mohair, beaded mohair and there’s one knit with Malabrigo Sock Yarn at my LYS). The pattern is fairly well written with clear charts – though the second chart is color coded so I recommend a color printer or a highlighter. I adjusted the edging with the first one I knit. The pattern calls for a crocheted edging that I found to be time consuming and a little tedious. I chose to do a standard bind off which looks fine to me – the yarn was the main focus of my shawl. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the current shawl. I like the look of the crocheted edging, but it’ll depend on time and the yarn may prove to be difficult. We shall see!
Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the shawl yet- still have to set up the camera with the new computer. I’ll post some as soon as possible.
Next week, it’s all about sock yarn all the time!
I’m back! November 26, 2010
I have a new computer, new yarn, and far too much to knit! Still working on getting the camera, yarn and computer in the same place but I’ll get there! Stay tuned for Colinette Jitterbug, Malabrigo Sock, Hand warmers and more Christmas knitting than I can handle!
knitting schedule? July 21, 2010
And it’s not even Christmas! So far I have 3 projects that have a time stamp, and one of them is a BEAST! I sat down last night to make a list if what needed to be done when and found that I’m pretty behind from where i need to be. But fear not! For it is art fair, and aside from bike rides and going to work and I not desire to do anything other than knit. Hopefully I’ll get one of the three projects done this week (baby sweaters are so fast!).
Anyone else on a non-holiday knitting schedule?
Little Purls of Wisdom 